2 ms·
We will evolve a lot more in the coming 500 years than we have in the past 500 years. There might not even be recognizable humans around anymore except for some
by im3w1l 6y ago
We will evolve a lot more in the coming 500 years than we have in the past 500 years. There might not even be recognizable humans around anymore except for some backwards savages in a reservation.
- HarryHirsch 6y agoHopefully the Falklands will still be around.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- neetrain 6y agoThere will be no selection pressure. As long as whether you can survive and make children is independent from your gene, Evolution never occurs.
- est31 6y agoThere is still selection pressure today, not because you are too weak physically to make children, but because of sexual selection. Many people have a hard time finding a partner, often due to genetic issues. On the other hand, many people have genetic traits that help making them highly attractive and able to give their genes to many people. So selection is still around, but nowadays we select for different things than nature used to when medicine wasn't as well developed as it is today. Note that this selection alone won't cause any genetic change faster than what existed in the past. What really accelerates changes in the gene pool is us deliberately doing them. We'll start with eliminating hereditary diseases, but I don't think we'll stop there. We'll likely study which genetic variants give rise to desirable traits and then make those mutations to upcoming children of interested individuals.
- danielheath 6y agoWhat do you think is going to kill enough people to create such an unprecedented selection pressure?
- im3w1l 6y agoWe will deliberately genetically engineer ourselves.
- danielheath 6y agoA few people, I have no doubt. When do you think even half the population will be willing and able to afford doing it? The desperate poor aren’t going anywhere.
- BurningFrog 6y agoWhen/if the engineered kids turn out to be really great people, most parents will want them. Desperate poverty is rapidly disappearing across the world. Look it up!
- v4dok 6y agoIt does, but that doesn't mean that the masses will be able to afford it. Its like you've never seen a cyberpunk dystopia scenario. Honestly, this is I think for now our default.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- neetrain 6y agoWhen genetic screening becomes common, gene-based persecution and holocaust can happen maybe?
- astrange 6y agoSince most mutations are bad for you, wouldn't you want to screen for fewer mutations and end up with less change? I doubt we'll figure out how to do genetic reprogramming on people. It seems like patching a few SNPs isn't going to do much.
- bserge 6y agoUnless everyone starts modifying newborns, it's more like everything around us will evolve more in the coming 500 years and would be unrecognizable to us from now. Our own evolution is slow, but because of our numbers and tech, we're modifying everything around us at an unbelievable pace.